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How to Not Be Funny

Edgy DC Sep 26 2006 09:14 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Sep 26 2006 09:17 PM

Advice to myself as much as anybody. 1) Piggyback on somebody else’s gag. Somebody posts something funny, and, while people are responding, you take advantage of their vulnerability and jump in with a followup, posting something less funny as a response. It’s rude to the first guy and far less funny than it would have been on its own, because it detracts from the stronger post. That’s a way to not be funny. 2) Don’t read. Giving cursory reads to other threads, looking at them not as something filled with stimulating contributions by others, but rather as opportunities for you to be funny… is another way to not be funny. It’s also a way to make everything dumber. 3) Use lists of jokes. We all know the internet and e-mail is filled with lists of jokes. Sometimes they’re appropriate to link to. But copying them from elsewhere (and worst, passing them off as your own), or copying your own work from elsewhere, and pasting them into a thread as if you’re just on fire… is yet another way not to be funny. 4) Read only for gag opportunities. Don’t post unless you have a crack. No matter how lame it is, remember, if you don’t joke, you die. This is unfunny. If you want to be unfunny, good for you for doing this. 5) Repeat your jokes if you don’t get a response. Bump threads in which your jokes didn’t get a response. You deserve a response, even if demanding it is unfunny. 6) Look and look and look for your own niche. If you write with your heart and mind, and it’ll come. But, instead of that, try really really hard with each post to make your own brand, and be unfunny. 7) "Rude is not the same as brash. It is not the same as brassy. It is not the same as gutsy or thinking outside the box. Rudeness means taking advantage..." --Richard Cohen, Washington Post. Not funny.

metirish Sep 26 2006 09:17 PM

Good advice.....

Edgy DC Sep 26 2006 09:19 PM

8) Take advantage of online communities. They are not a culture with a dynamic to respect, understand, and join in humbly. They are captive audiences for you to work your material on. Good way to be unfunny, that.

KC Sep 26 2006 09:23 PM

See youse spring training, I guess ... I'll go into therapy.

Edgy DC Sep 26 2006 09:41 PM

Not at all.

Edgy DC Sep 26 2006 09:43 PM

9) If a guy mentions a cheetah, and you know a joke about a leopard, pull out the joke. Good unfunny points there.

Elster88 Sep 26 2006 09:49 PM

]3) Use lists of jokes. We all know the internet and e-mail is filled with lists of jokes. Sometimes they’re appropriate to link to. But copying them from elsewhere (and worst, passing them off as your own), or copying your own work from elsewhere, and pasting them into a thread as if you’re just on fire… is yet another way not to be funny. Disagree completely. I would've never seen the Chuck Norris stuff if not for lists. How about 3) Post funny lists of jokes as seperate threads so they can quickly be relegated to the back of the forum if no one likes them.

Edgy DC Sep 26 2006 09:54 PM

I've never known you to disagree any way but completely. The sin is copying and pasting whole-hog, passing work off as your own. Not referencing. That can be gorgeous, where appropriate.

Elster88 Sep 26 2006 09:56 PM

="Edgy DC"]I've never known you to disagree any way but completely. I'm contrary. Or maybe just looking for attention, who knows? Fine, I disagree, yet not completely. ]The sin is copying and pasting whole-hog, passing work off as your own. I'll buy that.

Johnny Dickshot Sep 26 2006 10:09 PM

Nobody needs to tell me how not to be funny. My apologies for un-funnying CF's KTE thread. I meant to say "LOL," but that's not funny.

Edgy DC Sep 26 2006 10:11 PM

It's an open-source list.

KC Sep 26 2006 10:18 PM

I predict Edge is gonna regret starting this thread.

Edgy DC Sep 26 2006 10:30 PM

I know I do. And did. And will. As said up front, it's for myself as much as any.

Nymr83 Sep 26 2006 10:42 PM

move this to the RLF and start naming names!

Johnny Dickshot Sep 26 2006 10:46 PM

Edgy DC wrote: I know I do. And did. And will. As said up front, it's for myself as much as any. LOL

Edgy DC Sep 26 2006 10:56 PM

Maybe it's a convoluted version of Read More, Post Less, which itself fails to Post Less.

KC Sep 27 2006 09:13 AM

Wouldn't it be easier to just post, "dude, you ain't funny" or whatever instead of a convoluted listing of 8-9 things that annoy you in a manner that resembles reading from tablets high atop Mount Edgy more than wishing people would read more and post less? I don't get the timing either. I don't see a reason to alienate Mets fans here by calling them out and suggesting how they post on the eve of our biggest month of baseball in six years.

Edgy DC Sep 27 2006 09:43 AM

Yeah, there was almost nothing right about it. Except that it gave Dickshot a chance to pull a great Frank Burns-type line out. Very sorry to all. I'll try and be less insane today.

KC Sep 27 2006 10:43 AM

And it wasn't right for me to rip ya a new asshole either. I do some of the stuff on your list, although not to extreme I don't think. I'm self conscious as it is that I don't have the time, energy, and focus to contribute more to the forum and some of that stuff didn't make me feel so swell (as I'm sure it won't others).

Edgy DC Sep 27 2006 10:46 AM

I'm an pathetically frustrated individual some days. I knew the actual funny ones would take the offense. Stupid Taliban.

Edgy DC Sep 27 2006 10:46 AM

Oh, and welcome back to Elstsr.

soupcan Sep 27 2006 10:49 AM

Edgy DC wrote: I knew the actual funny ones would take the offense. Apology accepted.

Edgy DC Sep 27 2006 10:55 AM

Now that... ...is funny! See now, I was hoping thaat by sacrificing myself on the douchebag alter, a small funny rennassance of sorts might occur.

cooby Sep 27 2006 10:56 AM

What's a gonfalon bubble?

soupcan Sep 27 2006 10:57 AM

cooby wrote: What's a gonfalon bubble? Read more, post less.

KC Sep 27 2006 10:58 AM

It's from that Tinkers to Evers to Chance poem ... a pennant or flag

Edgy DC Sep 27 2006 11:00 AM

gonfalon bubble. By the way, coo=funny, without any of them faux pas things I bitched about. Self-awareness, baby.

cooby Sep 27 2006 11:09 AM

soupcan wrote: ="cooby"]What's a gonfalon bubble? Read more, post less. I knew he was talking about me!

cooby Sep 27 2006 11:10 AM

whoops, I posted that before I saw your nice compliment.... RMPL, RMPL, RMPL.....

Vic Sage Sep 27 2006 12:48 PM Re: How to Not Be Funny

]1) Piggyback on somebody else’s gag. Somebody posts something funny, and, while people are responding, you take advantage of their vulnerability and jump in with a followup, posting something less funny as a response. It’s rude to the first guy and far less funny than it would have been on its own, because it detracts from the stronger post. That’s a way to not be funny. piggybacking on somebody else's gag is how the now-classic "santa claus vs rudolph" thread got started. In fact, jumping on somebody else's gag often leads to the funniest threads. ]2) Don’t read. Giving cursory reads to other threads, looking at them not as something filled with stimulating contributions by others, but rather as opportunities for you to be funny… is another way to not be funny. It’s also a way to make everything dumber. RMPL is a good rule of thumb under any situation. I'm not sure what it has to do with being funny. ]3) Use lists of jokes. We all know the internet and e-mail is filled with lists of jokes. Sometimes they’re appropriate to link to. But copying them from elsewhere (and worst, passing them off as your own), or copying your own work from elsewhere, and pasting them into a thread as if you’re just on fire… is yet another way not to be funny. funny lists are funny, by definition. plagiarism (copying without attribution) is not cool, funny or not. Using your own pre-existing material is funny if the material is funny and appropriate to the new context. Sometimes its even FUNNIER in the new context. ]4) Read only for gag opportunities. Don’t post unless you have a crack. No matter how lame it is, remember, if you don’t joke, you die. This is unfunny. If you want to be unfunny, good for you for doing this. Some gags are funny, some aren't. If you post alot of gags, some of them are bound to be unfunny, even if your Richard Pryor. ]5) Repeat your jokes if you don’t get a response. Bump threads in which your jokes didn’t get a response. You deserve a response, even if demanding it is unfunny. sometimes demanding a response is part of the humor. "Hello? Is this thing on?" become cliched comedy material because its such a prevalent comic technique. If the response is funny, its funny. ]6) Look and look and look for your own niche. If you write with your heart and mind, and it’ll come. But, instead of that, try really really hard with each post to make your own brand, and be unfunny. Certainly, having a "tag line" can be obnoxious, but it can also be funny. In fact, it was the very essence of the early, funny seasons of SNL. ]7) "Rude is not the same as brash. It is not the same as brassy. It is not the same as gutsy or thinking outside the box. Rudeness means taking advantage..." --Richard Cohen, Washington Post. Not funny.

And rudeness can be positively hysterical.

So, all in all, i think you're list is total cocky doodie.

Hillbilly Sep 27 2006 02:50 PM

cocky doodie now that's funny!

Edgy DC Sep 27 2006 03:44 PM

]piggybacking on somebody else's gag is how the now-classic "santa claus vs rudolph" thread got started. In fact, jumping on somebody else's gag often leads to the funniest threads. Well, you missed my caveat suggesting that less funny was un-funny in these cases. That thread, rather, invovled successful one-upmanship most of the way. ]RMPL is a good rule of thumb under any situation. I'm not sure what it has to do with being funny. Well, there was this tiresome explanation I used. I blame you not for missing it but I used it. ]funny lists are funny, by definition. plagiarism (copying without attribution) is not cool, funny or not. Using your own pre-existing material is funny if the material is funny and appropriate to the new context. Sometimes its even FUNNIER in the new context. Indiscriminate dumping isn't funny. Funny material forced liked a square peg into round context respects neither the material nor the context. ]Some gags are funny, some aren't. If you post alot of gags, some of them are bound to be unfunny, even if your Richard Pryor. So be discriminating with your gag choices, even if you're Richard Pryor. ]sometimes demanding a response is part of the humor. "Hello? Is this thing on?" become cliched comedy material because its such a prevalent comic technique. If the response is funny, its funny. That's a subsequent joke, at one's own expense. I'm referring to those repeating a joke, bumping a thread, demanding a positive response, which lacks any such self-awareness. ]Certainly, having a "tag line" can be obnoxious, but it can also be funny. In fact, it was the very essence of the early, funny seasons of SNL. Let it come, don't force it. ]And rudeness can be positively hysterical. Depends on the sap, their condition, and whether or not they're in a position to return the favor, don't you think? Dumb tack I started. New tack. Here's what's witty: brevity, restraint, sefl-freakin'-awareness, wisdom, timing, judgment, and farts when they're our own.

cooby Sep 27 2006 03:48 PM

Edge, you're forgiven so don't sweat it